My Writings (I hope!) reflect my Guiding Principles:
-'Enjoy Life to the Utmost but not at other people's expense'-'Think Global, Act Local'-'Variety is the Spice of Life'-'Use Technology & Wisdom to Make the World A Better Place for All God's Creatures'-'Do Not Accept Injustice No Matter Where You Find It'-'Laughter is the Best Medicine'

"Cyber Girls’ Power” comes to Galway - Ireland’s premier Digital City

Mercy Secondary School students with Ina O'Murchu at 'Women in Technology' event at DERI NUIG

The hosting ofa major pioneering initiative taking
place at NUI Galway on May 17th-18th aims to encourage
increased learning of computer coding amongst the local female population.
Entitled ‘Rails Girls Galway’, the May event is part of a worldwide movement
that aims to bridge the gender divide in technology and teach women how to
code. The free weekend workshop will let females of all ages in on the exciting
world of building web applications and software services. It will be held on
Friday and Saturday May 17th-18th at the NUI Galway’s Digital
Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) located in the Dangan IDA/NUIG Business
Park.

Coders Needed to Make the much vaunted Knowledge Society a reality

“Ireland needs computer
programmers of both sexes to help lay the foundations of the ‘Knowledge
Economy’ and to create the jobs for a sustainable future,” says Myriam Leggieri,
DERI researcher and one of the chief organisers. “But there is in particular a serious
shortage of female IT developers in Ireland and across the world as well as in
the professions of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)
professions generally. Events such as 'Rails Girls' directly address this issue
and empower girls to take the first step in learning these in-demand skills and
acquiring the tools to conquer one of the last great frontiers of science,
namely the World Wide Web.”

Alanna from 091Labs

The organisers comprise mainly
young female IT researchers involved in local third level colleges, businesses,
schools and volunteer digital makers’ clubs such as Coderdojo and 091Labs.
Though primarily aimed towards local female students particularly in post
primary schools and third level colleges, nevertheless there will be attendees
arriving from across Ireland and Britain. The weekend event is free, is open to
all enthusiastic girls and women, and is suitable for absolute beginners to
computer coding. No prior knowledge of programming is required.

This event is part of a radical technology
learning transformation of the city.

Huge Interest in Learning to Code amongst Galway's YouthEvery Saturday morning at NUI Galway and
other locations in Athenry and Kinvara, hundreds of enthusiastic children and
teenagers create their very own games, digital stories and web projects
mentored by the young volunteer mentors of Coderdojo.

Coderdojo Class in DERI on Saturday mornings

Youth-run clubs such as
091 Labs are also providing informal after-school digital
maker’s environments. Thanks to
the combined efforts of volunteer tutors from Hewlett Packard, Avaya, GMIT,
Medtronic, SAP and DERI working under the guidance of the Galway Education
Centre supported by the work of the Galway Science and Technology Forum and
Junior Achievement, approximately two thousand pupils and students in over 50 primary
and post-primary schools across counties Mayo and Galway are currently being
educated in computer programming.

Transition Year students Davitt College Castlebar learning to code with Brendan Smith DERI

Recognition of the importance of these developments
is shown by the recent inaugural ‘John
Cunningham Memorial Coderdojo Awards’ granted to young codersfor
their outstanding contributions to computer programming; the Boston Scientific
‘Coding the Big Bang’ awards; and
ITAG’s new ‘IT in the Community
Award’ that was won by Coderdojo Galway city.

Birth of Ireland's First Generation of Coders

The end result is that finally,
five decades after the tentative introduction of computing into Irish schools,
we are experiencing the first generation of children that can code, that are
truly ‘digitalcreators’ rather than just passive ‘digital users’.

Retro Gaming event Computer Museum, DERI

Galway: Ireland's primary Science CityThese developments are part of an even bigger picture of progressive change where the city can truly claim to be Ireland's oldest Digital City and probably its premier City of Science having in the process the potential to become the Silicon Valley of Ireland.See my article on this subject by clicking here

Location for leading International & National Science Research & Science Education centres.Galway is now the location for the Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland (based at DERI NUIG), the national Marine Institute, the National Aquarium (Galway Atlantaquaria), Ireland's longest (2 weeks) annual Science and Technology Festival and the world's largest semantic web research institute (DERI). It was to Galway rather
than to Dublin or to Cork that CERN, the world’s largest particle physics
laboratory, sent their renowned interactive exhibition last September. It was hugely sucessfull and was visited by
12,000 post-primary school students from across the island.Interestingly the DERI-based computer museum hosts an exhibit dedicated to women (hidden histories) that were pioneers in communications and computer technologies but are largely unknown by the general public.

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Lover of Nature, of Peoples & of Technology.Endeavour to 'Think Global, Act Local'.Believer in Liberation Theology.Proud to be Irish with a Rebel Heart.

"I view 'Technology' as a liberating force & a means of helping in saving the planet from man's catastrophic interference.

Lead mentor in Africa Code Week. 'Galway Science Person of the Year' Award 2006& 2012. 'Galway IT in the Community' Award 2014 (ITAG). Recipient of Galway Mayoral Award
for community projects. Co-founder of Coderdojo Galway City which won ITAG 'Technology in the Community Award' 2013. Curator & founding member of Computer & Communications Museum of Ireland. Presented also with a number of other Science &
Technology plaudits including Galway ITAG Information Technology Schools Award 2006.Former Holiday Village manager, pub owner & Music promoter.

The Irish

The great Gaels of IrelandAre the men that God made madFor all their wars are merry,And all their songs are sad-G.K. Chesterton, English writer

Wise Words

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people. -Martin Luther King